Individualism-collectivism in organisational and career commitment: A study of managers in Australia and Malaysia

One of the major issues that many organisations will face in the coming years is the management of increasing diversity in the workforce. Understanding the influence of individualism-collectivism on organisational and career commitment, organisational value types, and general satisfaction of managers in different cultures may allow organisations to effectively manage the intra- and intercultural differences present in a culturally diverse workforce. The influence of individualism-collectivism on organisational and career commitment, organisational value types and general satisfaction were examined in two cultures (Malaysia and Australia) by a survey methodology. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 was to develop semantically equivalent measures in English and Malay languages. Four bilinguals performed the translation, back-translation and decentering procedures for the 15 measures. Study 2 was to ensure that the reliabilities of the measures were comparable across the two culture groups. Reliability analysis indicated that the internal consistencies were acceptable for all the measures, and that the reliabilities were similar across the two groups. Modifications of the questionnaires for the main study were made. Study 3 was the main study. Twenty-eight organisations participated in the main study and a total of 323 managers voluntarily participated in the survey. Tests of invariance confirm that each of the 15 measures were invariant. Cross-cultural t-test results revealed that Malaysian managers were higher on vertical individualism, horizontal and vertical collectivism, continuance and normative organisational commitment, whereas Australian managers were higher on career resilience and general satisfaction. The multiple regressions analyses revealed several unexpected results. Vertical allocentric managers in Malaysia have significant positive effects on continuance commitment whereas horizontal allocentrics managers have a significant positive relationship with career planning commitment. Vertical idiocentrics managers in Australia showed a significant positive relationships with normative commitment whereas horizontal allocentrics managers have a significant positive relationships with general satisfaction. Horizontal allocentrics in both Malaysia and Australia have significant positive relationships with career identity commitment. The research findings are discussed in relation to the literature. Implications and recommendations for the future research are presented.